Monthly Archives: August 2013

Happy Friday everyone! And a happy Labor Day to my US friends too! I’m not sure how it got to be the end of summer already but here we are … September is approaching and pumpkin is everywhere 🙂

I am taking Kerri’s lead today and posting about a very important issue. The Strip Safely campaign is well under way. But there is something else that is needed from us to ensure that the tools we use to manage our diabetes is taken very seriously by the FDA. They are planning future patient meetings on various diseases and conditions to better understand them. Don’t you think they need to get a better view of the challenges of living with diabetes and how the tools available play a huge role in that? Don’t you think since the number of people being diagnosed with diabetes keeps growing and growing, a solid understanding of this disease from the people who have it would help? I do. And I’m sure many of you would agree. So let’s get together and make our voices heard. Take a few minutes to sign this petition, please. And pass it along. We need 5,000 signatures so get to it!

The Girl with the Portable Pancreas turns 3 on Sunday. I cannot believe how time flies. It wasn’t my start at blogging, as I had already been blogging for my friends at ACT1, but I started my own three years ago. I am very happy to be able to reach out to people sharing my own experiences and knowledge and be part of such a powerful community. I hope you continue to read and know that together we can do this.

I will leave you with wishes for a wonderful weekend and some motivation to keep you going strong 🙂

Strip Safely. This is a fairly new collaboration within the diabetes online community to spread knowledge about the fact that the glucose test strips we use today, yes in 2013, are not completely accurate. I have known this and it is an issue that bothers me greatly. I think about all the people with diabetes who are not aware of an issue like this. Those that are outside of the diabetes community. Those that take their BG readings for granted. And it can set someone up for major tragedy. Since I know my BG meter is not 100% accurate, I always double and triple check if I get a questionable reading. Too high or too low or totally off from my Dexcom, continuous glucose monitor. Someone who is naive to meter accuracy, would go ahead and dose insulin based on a questionable reading. That could lead to an immediate danger of an insulin overdose or not administering enough insulin which could lead to high blood sugar and the subsequent complications.

I don’t want to go back to the days of urine testing where you knew in what “range” your sugar was. When I was diagnosed in 1981 that was the method used to test glucose levels. You peed on a strip (similar to ketone test strips) and your urine turned it a certain color depending on how much glucose was in your urine. Probably from hours ago. That color represented a range of readings. When I bolus from my insulin pump today, it doesn’t ask me what range my blood glucose is. It asks for a specific reading that is used to calculate a precise amount of insulin needed to either correct a high or cover carbohydrates. Carb counting and insulin dosing can be difficult enough at times without factoring in an inaccurate blood glucose reading.

Every single thing about diabetes management lies in the blood sugar. How can one possibly manage blood sugar if they do not know with certainty what it is? The answer? One cannot. And when people’s lives are at stake I can’t think of any better reason to campaign for better test strip accuracy and oversight over that market.

Take the time to write a letter to your elected officials. Urge them to attend the Diabetes Technology Society meeting taking place on September 9th. Tonight on Twitter, there is a special time designated between 8 and 9pm, EST, to tweet about this issue to your elected officials. They need to be aware of this important issue. We need support to get this resolved. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #stripsafely

The definition of revolution, according to Google, is a forcible overthrow of a government or social order for a new system. I am starting to think that my diabetes devices are starting a revolution. I am not sure what new system they would like. Maybe a working natural endocrine system? That would sure be nice!

I have been using the OmniPod system for 19 months; the new generation system for over 2 of that 19 months. Within that time frame I’ve only had a few instances of bad pods or issues of that nature. Until recently. I obviously cannot prove that these new issues are due to the mechanics of the new pods. However since I haven’t had issues before, that is what I am lead to believe. A couple of weeks ago I had three pod issues in a row – two bleeders and one that was leaking insulin. On various site locations. I took a break from the pods for almost 2 weeks. Today was day 3 of my first pod since that break. And I got an occlusion during my breakfast bolus. Unfortunately I did not have an extra pod with me nor any syringes (that situation was remedied as soon as I got my hands on my supply) and I had to go home from work to get insulin. Not the best situation to be in. When I removed the pod, there were no visible signs of cause for an occlusion. Taking another break.

Also, I have been using a Dexcom CGMS for almost 5 years; the G4 system for 9 months of those 5 years. For most of that time I have used my outer thighs primarily for sensor sites since I cannot use them for infusion sites (due to lack of absorption). No major problems other than the occasional failed or wacky sensor, one bad transmitter and one broken receiver. In all that time. Then all of a sudden in the past few weeks I have had numerous bleeding sites. Some that have not affected the performance, some that have. I am sensor-less at the moment, giving my skin time to breathe. But I am going to attempt another one this evening. I am honestly lost without my CGM.

Using diabetes devices should not be stressful. I normally do not feel burnt out easily when it comes to my diabetes. But these recent problems have me totally burnt out. I can’t help but feel that all of a sudden, I am doing things wrong. I’m hoping this revolution will be put to an end soon when they realize a working pancreas is not going to happen 😉